The Complete Peanuts 1959-1962 Box Set [BOX SET] (Hardcover)

by Charles M. Schulz (Author), Diana Krall (Introduction), Whoopi Goldberg (Introduction), Seth (Designer)
Key Phrases: naturally curly hair, Charles Schulz, United Feature Syndicate

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The fifth volume in Fantagraphics Books' Complete Peanuts series welcomes a new character: Sally, Charlie Brown's baby sister. It's interesting to see how the perpetually beleaguered CB--criticized for having a "face" face or a "failure face--now takes on the responsibility of worrying about the world his sister will grow up in. His role as manager of the baseball team continues to bring him woe, losing 600-0, losing all 20 games of the season, making a daring attempt to steal home, and having to miss a game to push his sister's stroller. Linus, at first wondering if Sally will someday go out with him, gets his answer in spades: "Isn't he the cutest thing?" But he'd much rather lavish his attention on the new teacher, Miss Othmar ("I'm very fond of the ground on which she walks"), even if his eggshell project doesn't work out as planned. Snoopy, though threatened by a hanging icicle and a possible freeway through his home, still finds joy in being a gopher, the Big Man on Campus, or the Mad Punter. "Peanuts" was well into its classic years in the 1959-60 period, with such signature moments as "Happiness is a warm puppy" and a lot of material that would become familiar staples of the Christmas and Halloween television specials. --David Horiuchi

By 1961-62, "Peanuts" was truly the comic strip that we all still know and love, with situations and sayings that would cement its place as one of the most memorable literary creations of all time. Linus is firmly center stage, and if not for baseball would probably eclipse Charlie Brown in status. His efforts to defend his blanket are legendary (Lucy buries it and turns it into a kite), he gets glasses, and his favorite teacher, Miss Othmar (now known as Mrs. Hagemeyer) returns, which leads to some consternation when he (1) learns that she's accepting money to teach and (2) tells her he'll give up his blanket if she gives up biting her fingernails. There's a new character, Frieda with the naturally curly hair, and her floppy cat strikes terror throughout the neighborhood. Oh, about that baseball team. Everyone quits when Schroeder gives up baseball for Beethoven (leading CB to take out a personal ad to manage another team), they decide their pep talk is making them hypocrites, and Linus is assigned to scout the opposing team. As much as "Peanuts" is a reflection of its era ("Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?"), it also had a self-awareness as a comic strip (Linus: "The most recent criticism is that there is too little action and far too much talking in the modern-day comic strip. What do you think about this?" CB: "Ridiculous!") that proved just how far Charles M. Schulz was ahead of his time. With fellow pianist Schroeder on the cover, Diana Krall wrote this volume's introduction. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
The popular, annual gift set continues with the fifth and sixth volumes.

Continuing the tradition of the previous two holiday seasons, Fantagraphics presents a deluxe boxed set of the fifth and sixth volumes of The Complete Peanuts, designed by the award-winning graphic novelist Seth. Shipping shrinkwrapped, with Volumes 1959-1960 and 1961-1962 packed in a sturdy custom box designed especially for this set, it's the perfect gift book item of the season.

This set collects almost 1500 daily and Sunday comic strips, the vast majority of which are not currently available in any in-print Peanuts collection, and many of which have never been reprinted since heir initial appearance in papers over 50 years ago. Using archival-quality syndicate proofs for virtually every strip in its history, the series boasts the best-looking, crispest reproduction for a classic comic strip ever achieved.

Peanuts is the most successful comic strip in the history of the medium. A United Media poll in 2002 found Peanuts to be the second most recognizable cartoon property in the world, known by 94 percent of the total U.S. consumer market and a close second only to Mickey Mouse (96 percent).

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (October 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560977744
• ISBN-13: 978-1560977742
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.2 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #107,196 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete 2-book Set : Identical as the books sold separately only cheaper!, October 10, 2006

By	Zaved Ahmed (Dhaka, Bangladesh) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Complete Peanuts is definitely complete! It's a real collectors' item! Hats off to Fantagraphics Books for initiating such an ambitious project though their release schedule (releasing only two books every year - it will take twelve and a half years before the entire collection is published) leaves one frustrated.

Each book contains 2 complete years of Peanuts - the funniest comic strip of all time (IMHO). So this two-book set contains four complete years of Peanuts - all the strips that were published between 1959-1962.

Note that both books included in the boxed set are exactly the same ones that are sold separately. The books also contain full book jackets (i.e. if desired can be shelved separately). As of this review date it is cheaper to buy the two-book set than to buy them separately at Amazon and we get an added attractive slipcase with the two-book set.

Unfortunately the Sunday strips are in black and white - a minor gripe. However other such comic strip collections (including Calvin and Hobbs) have the Sunday ones in color.

Recommended.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4 Full Years, 1,500 Strips., November 25, 2006

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fantagraphics, the publisher of this set of two books is to be thanked for making available once again these cartoon scripts that were first (and for many, only) seen 40+ years ago. These two books, printed and bound in very high quality and put together in a heavy cardboard slipcase contain something like 1500 peanuts cartoon strips, everything Mr. Schultz did from 1959 through 1962, four full years of Peanuts. Furthermore, these two books packaged together are cheaper than buying the individual volumes..

I don't know if you can say that Peanuts has a golden age, but if I were looking for one I'd have to consider this era. This was the time of the Great Pumpkin, one of my favorites. Charlie Brown's sister Sally has just been born. Snoopy is ... Well, let's just say Snoopy is at his finest.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peanuts 59-62, February 12, 2007

By	Espen Brochmann (Norway) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Complete Peanuts 1959-1962 Box Set, is such a treat, I was far from even being born at the time these cartoons were printed. But the good old Peanuts are just fabulous. I recommend this box set to anyone that would like to give them self or some they care about a treat.

Espen